The New England Patriots reshaped their defensive edge during Mike Vrabel’s first year as head coach in 2025, signing longtime Vrabel pupil in Tennessee Harold Landry and taking a flier on 2020 first-round selection K’Lavon Chaisson.
New England’s sack numbers improved from 2024, with Landry and Chaisson proving to be more effective, but only to an extent. Those totals still placed the defense below the NFL average, so the team decided to make additions.
In the next edition of our Patriots training
camp preview series, we’ll take a look at New England’s edge-rushing corps in its entirety and discuss the biggest takeaways heading into the summer practices. Veterans will report to the facility on July 24.
*Denotes player on the Pats Pulpit 53-man roster projection
Depth chart
Starters: Harold Landry III (30)*, Dre’Mont Jones (29)* | Backups: Gabe Jacas (22/R)*, Elijah Ponder (23)*, Bradyn Swinson (23)*, Jesse Luketa (27), Quintayvious Hutchins (23/R), Xavier Holmes (24/R)
Head coach Mike Vrabel and Co. began the offseason by adding hybrid defensive end and linebacker Dre’Mont Jones to aid veteran Harold Landry in his efforts to return from knee surgery earlier this offseason. Jones rushes the passer with power and can line up at multiple spots along the formation.
The Patriots then decided the Jones upgrade wasn’t enough and selected an aggressive pass rusher in the second round of the draft, Gabe Jacas. However, the rookie has yet to practice with the team this offseason and sign his rookie deal, leaving uncertainty about how prepared he’ll be for the start of training camp and next season.
New England also has two second-year rushers returning in former undrafted free agent Elijah Ponder and 2025 fifth-round pick Bradyn Swinson. Both will look to continue making positive strides throughout summer camp.
Local Boston College product and seventh-round selection Quintayvious Hutchins and rookie minicamp tryout Xavier Holmes add further developmental depth as the Patriots try to remain younger at the position with Landry and Jones sitting atop the depth chart.
Additionally, after three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and a practice-squad stint with the Los Angeles Rams, Jesse Luketa also slots in as an experienced and versatile option, rushing the passer, setting the edge in run defense, or helping the special-teams units.
Key question: Can the depth provide ample support?
With neither Landry nor Jacas participating in practice yet — the former was placed on the active/PUP list this week while the latter remains unsigned — younger players like Ponder and Swinson have seen greater opportunities on the field.
In the absence of both players, Ponder, who had four sacks in his final eight games last season, has heavily repped with the first-team defense during the spring sessions. The defensive coaches are seemingly big fans of what he brings to the table.
“I’ve got very high expectations for [Ponder]. Very,” outside linebacker coach Mike Smith said ahead of mandatory minicamp practice on June 10. “All these guys have done great all spring, but he really, really looks comfortable out there. It has really slowed down for him. Again, we’re nine or 10 [practices in], but I got high expectations for him.”
Vrabel also spoke highly of Swinson at minicamp about his improvement during last season and through the spring, saying he’s “excited” for what the former LSU product can do in training camp.
But it remains to be seen the extent of what those second-year jumps will look like and whether they can match the production of players at the top of the depth chart.
X-Factor: Gabe Jacas
With Landry still rehabbing, drafting Jacas was supposed to provide stability to New England’s room on the defensive edge. That said, Jacas has been absent since his appearance on the sidelines at rookie minicamp on May 7 and 9.
It was known that Jacas was dealing with a hamstring injury during the pre-draft process, but ESPN’s Mike Reiss wrote earlier this offseason that the rookie also underwent a “clean-up” knee procedure.
Related to Jacas’ absence is his not being given a standard “participation agreement” in his rookie contract, Reiss also noted. That clause financially protects a player if they were to suffer an injury before signing.
The team knows what it’s getting from Jones as a player and has seen Landry’s production in a Patriots uniform (3.5 sacks in his first two games). However, Jacas can add a difference-making element to the mix as another pass-rushing body in a group that needed more help in 2025.
Jacas has the potential to be a three-down player and an immediate contributor, though missing valuable offseason reps could delay his early development. The same, of course, is true should he remain absent to start training camp.
